Another Adventure
by AndiKaneUnderwood
Summary: Middle Earth is full of Hobbits, Elves, Men, Dwarfs, and many other creatures. Come and meet them, if you dare. / One shot book also includes characters from the Hobbit, but mostly LotR.
1. Memory A Monster

Memory a Monster

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

 _"Your memory is a monster. It summons with a will of its own. You think you have a memory, but it has you." -John Irvin_

 **AU: Alpha/Beta/Omega, Genderbend**

 _Gandalf: Beta_

 _Athelas (Strider): Alpha_

 _Legolas: Omega_

 _Boromir: Beta_

 _Frodo Baggins: Omega_

 _Samwise (Sam) Gamgee: Alpha_

 _Meriadoc (Merry) Brandybuck: Alpha_

 _Peregrin (Pippin) Took: Omega_

 _LotR~LotR~LotR_

"You shall not pass!" Gandalf shouted, bringing his staff down hard on the stone passage. The Bulrog snapped his whip and took a single hulking step forward. Its broad heeled foot, ugly and boar-like, hit the bridge and the stone cracked and split underneath his great hulking frame. The stones crumbled, falling into the deep, black abyss below the Fellowship and taking the demon of Flame and Shadow with it.

Gandalf stood still for a moment, and then turned back, slowly making his way back to the rest. He was halted by the crack of a whip and a line of red shot up from the abyss behind him. It latched onto his ankle and pulled. Gandalf stumbled and fell to the ground as Frodo tried to come forward, only to be stopped by Boromir and held tightly, preventing him from running to the elderly Wizard's aid.

Athelas halted in her tracks, watching the Wizard struggle, but knowing that there was nothing she could do. She waited, desperately, pleading with Fate to let Gandalf survive, for Frodo's sake if not hers.

Gandalf slid off the edge of the broken bridge and clawed helplessly for a hold in the cracks of the stone. He looked to Frodo and Athelas, blue eyes wide and scared. Gandalf knew at that moment that there was nothing he could do to save himself. Nothing he could do to keep himself from falling. He spoke quietly, but his eyes spoke of a wild power that came from knowing you had nothing left to lose. "Fly, you fools." He said. Then his grip slipped and the Beta Wizard fell down after the Bulrog, lost to the eternal darkness of the black abyss.

Frodo screamed. "No!" He cried his desperation and pain barred for the world to witness. The cry echoed off the halls as he tried to free himself from Boromir's grip, only to be lifted off his feet with strength unfitting of a Beta man.

Boromir picked the small Hobbit up and began running towards the staircase as arrows fell around him. Boromir turned back and shouted, "Athelas!" calling for the Ranger who was still stationary, staring at the spot Gandalf had been.

The shout broke the spell and Athelas remembered the words Gandalf had spoken. Gandalf hadn't expected to make it out of this fight. She turned away, distancing herself from the feelings of grief and pain, and ran after Boromir, following the cries of pain still echoing off the walls.

 _LotR~LotR~LotR_

Outside, everyone was a mess of emotion and pain and tears, save Athelas, who would grieve later, quietly.

Samwise (Sam), Frodo's gardener/best friend/Alpha, had sunk down on a rock and was crying with tears streaming and her cheeks flushed. _How are we supposed to go on...? If one of us has fallen?_ Sam questioned, covering her hazel eyes with one hand on her forehead.

Meriadoc (Merry) was crouched down on another rock with silent tears falling, one hand on Peregrin's (Pippin) shoulder and the other gripping his arm, thumbs rubbing circles into his skin as he sobbed. _I did this. This is_ my _fault._ Pippin sobbed. Merry shook her head. _It's not your fault, Pip._ She murmured, _you didn't know this would happen._

Gimli looked like he was still in shock at what had happened. His eyes were filled with a look that could only be described as star-struck. _That didn't just happen. It couldn't have. Gandalf is alright, he has to be. He couldn't have fallen. He isn't dead... Is he?_

Boromir looked accepting. He was a soldier, they lost men in War far too often, and this was no different. It didn't make it hurt any less, but Boromir told himself he didn't care.

Legolas looked lost. Death didn't often touch the Elves. Rarely did the immortal beings die and too often they forgot that not every race was as gifted as theirs to live such lives.

Athelas looked around, watching the faces of the Fellowship, letting them grieve for the moment. Once she noticed that their time was running short, she called for them. "Legolas. Get them up."

"Give them a moment for pity's sake!" Boromir snapped as Legolas followed the commend robotically. Boromir knew damn well that while _he_ was a soldier, the Hobbits were _not_. They weren't used to losing people in battle. They shouldn't have to bear that burden on their shoulders.

Athelas was a Ranger, she'd fought in battles and bar brawls alike. Legolas had been around for several thousands of years; he'd fought with the dwarfs in Eobor and been in battle many times. Gimli was a dwarf, battles where in his blood. Hobbits were usually gentlefolk, more than likely Beta, with few Omegas and even fewer Alphas. The Hobbits didn't deserve to feel like they undoubtedly did.

"By nightfall, this hill will be overrun with Orcs. We need to keep moving. Come Legolas, Gimli, get them up!" Athelas replied, moving over to Merry and Pippin.

"On your feet, Sam," Legolas spoke softly as he pulled the young Alpha to her feet and sniffed, nodding her head, and then turning to gather what supplies had fallen from her pack.

Athelas held out a hand to Merry, but the Hobbit shook her head. "We're coming." Was all she said, and the undertone of warning was all Athelas needed to hear to understand what was happening. She moved on.

Sam turned back around, looking for her Omega. "Frodo?" She called. "Frodo!" Athelas swung around at Sam's call.

"Frodo!" Sam called again, spotting the Omega walking back the way they'd come, back towards the Shire. _Frodo?_ she asked, reaching out with her mind.

 _I want to go home._ was all that was returned. _This shouldn't have happened. I wish the ring hadn't come to me._ Frodo's voice tinged with sadness as he turned and Sam saw the tears in his eyes, the lone track down his cheek.

 _Gandalf's sacrifice won't be in vain, Frodo. This happened for a reason. We have to continue on in Gandalf's name. To finish the mission for Gandalf._ Sam returned and she felt acceptance bloom along the Bond. _Come to me. Come with us._

Frodo said nothing, but he turned back and came towards them. Sam wrapped him into a brief hug. "I'm sorry," she whispered and the nod against her shoulder told her that Frodo knew what she meant.

 _LotR~LotR~LotR_

When they stopped that night, for rest, Athelas stood and called them to attention. "I know we have lost someone very dear to us. Gandalf has touched all of our lives one way or another. I understand you must feel terrible, but our mission still goes on. We have better motivation to finish it now. Gandalf would've wanted us to see it through, to destroy the Ring before anyone else is killed by its power.

"This is no one's fault," Athelas spoke directly to Pippin, whose eyes were still wet and hands still shook. "Gandalf knew what dangers this would bring. He knew that it would likely mean his death. We will not let his sacrifice be in vain. We will continue on for him. We _must_ continue on." Athelas drew her sword and pointed it to the sky. "For Gandalf."

The Hobbits stood and drew their daggers, lifting them to join Athelas's weapon. "For Gandalf," they repeated.

Gimli came forward, thrusting his ax into the air, followed by Legolas with an arrow in hand. "For Gandalf."

A final sword joined them. Boromir held the hilt and nodded to Athelas when he caught her eye. "For Gandalf."

 **For those of you wondering, this is my newest one-shot book. For those of you thinking _what am I doing?_ Well, I have lots of ideas and I can't always use them in one story, so one-shots it is. Multiple fandoms just suit me.**

 **Okay, so. Middle Earth A/B/O AU... Right. So, Hobbits, Men, and Elves (being human or similar) all have secondary genders.**

 **Hobbits are mostly Beta (which means you don't have a secondary gender), though Alphas and Omegas can and do occur, as proven by Sam, Frodo, Merry, and Pippin.**

 **Aragorn, Samwise, and Meriadoc are all gender-bent.**

 **Aragon's name just sounded more masculine to me, so I changed it to Athelas to make it fit a little better with the story.**

 **Samwise and Meriadoc sounded more gender-neutral to me, so I left them as they were.**

 **Merry and Pippin are SoulMates and Mated, as are Sam and Frodo (Mated), and Aragorn and Legolas (Mated).**

 **Any other questions? Please comment and I'll do my best to answer within a timely manner.**


	2. Bonded

Bonded

By: AndiKaneUnderwood

 **AU: Soulbonds, Modern**

 **Soulbonds are the bond between Souls.**

 **Everyone has them; it doesn't matter if the bond is platonic or romantic.**

 **For this specific chapter, the bond between Merry and Pippin is platonic.**

 _LotR~LotR~LotR_

Soulbonds where huge. _Everyone_ had a Soulbond, but few were so lucky as to find the person you where bonded to. Soulbonded people, kind of like SoulMates, shared a connection and a mind link that no one else had with that person. It was different for everyone, but it was also kind of the same.

Or at least, that's how Peregrin Jeremy "Pippin" Took saw it.

Pippin had managed to find his bond young, in one Meriadoc Hayden "Merry" Brandybuck. They were thick as thieves and their relationship was watertight.

Of course, they fought sometimes, but they were still best friends, so really even if they were angry with each other, no one screwed with Pippin and no one screwed with Merry lest you risk the wrath of the other. Proven, quite painfully, to three of the football players when they thought it'd be funny to corner Pippin out on the football field and beat him half to death.

 _LotR~LotR~LotR_

Merry was having a good day. School had been alright, he'd gotten an A on the test he was worried about, and he'd finally scored a date with Estella Bolger. _Merry?_ asked the tentative voice in his head. Merry knew that voice, he knew the person it belonged to, hardly a day went by that they didn't talk.

 _Yes, Pippin?_ Merry replied, stretching the muscles in his back. It burned, but that was alright. That meant it was all going back to proper positioning.

 _I may have gotten myself into trouble._ Pippin told him.

Merry sighed. _What have you done and where are you?_ He asked.

 _I didn't do anything!_ Pippin protested, then a blossom of pain bloomed and Merry raised an eyebrow. _Ow._

 _What's happening, Pip?_ Merry asked, voice firm and full of questions.

 _The football players thought I'd be a nice addition to their victim pool. I was just coming to meet you by the old trees and they jumped me._ Pippin replied, the out loud he shouted, _"Hey. No! Stop, please!"_

Merry started running. Where _, Pippin? Where are you?_

Pippin's voice was strained and pain filled with he answered. _The left side of- "Ow! Stop! No, please!" The football field._

Merry took off running and made it in record time. When he got there, he found several of the players gather in a circle shouting and laughing. Underneath their boots was a cry of pain and Merry saw a flash of golden hair and blue eyes. Merry wasn't exactly certain what had happened next. All he knew was that his vision blurred and he saw red and the next thing he knew he was standing in the middle of a circle of fallen football players, chest heaving and breathing heavy.

Pippin would later tell him that he'd taken them all down with nothing but his bare hands. Pippin would tell him that his eyes had gone all dark, almost black and that was the only time Pippin had truly been _afraid_ of his best friend.

 _LotR~LotR~LotR_

Then it was learned again with some of the baseball players when they actually _did_ beat Merry within an inch of his life because he'd beaten the football players within an inch of theirs. Pippin's mood had already gotten sour for the day. His cousin Frodo hadn't been at school and they'd made plans for lunch (Pippin suspected the stomach bug that had been going around lately), and he'd been called to the principal's office over something as trivial as a misplaced baseball bat.

 _Pippin._ Merry called over their bond.

 _Please tell me you're able to cheer me up. I'm not sure when, but I_ am _about to snap._ Pippin replied, pushing his ire and annoyance through the bond to prove his point.

 _Sorry, Pip. I need you to come and help me out, the baseball players seem to have seen it fit to beat me because of what happened a few weeks ago._ Merry replied.

Pippin sighed and headed off to the field. _I'm on my way._

Getting there was easy. _Finding_ Merry was more difficult. All Pippin saw was brownish blonde hair and brown eyes, then everything went red and black.

Later, Merry told Pippin that he wasn't sure what had happened either because he'd been mostly out of it. But he did catch the ending. Merry said Pippin looked terrifying. That was all Merry would say.

 _LotR~LotR~LotR_

They didn't say it, but they where bonded and it showed.

After all, after those particular incidents, no one dared hurt them again.


End file.
